Shears legend ponders another southern challenge
King Country shearing legend David Fagan has found the whiff of a few sheep and the competition bug just too much to resist in a snap decision to make a second trip to the South Island in a week for Saturday’s New Zealand Spring Shears in Waimate.
Turning 49 later this month and having confirmed a role in his 29th Open-class season by competing in the New zealand Merino Championships in Alexandra last weekend, he lodged his entry last night.
It was a fillip for organisers who when the original closing date passed last weekend pondered a possibility of one of their few shows without Fagan since he first appeared in Open-class shearing in 1982.
He won the Waimate final eight times between 1984 and 2003, part of a career tally of 603 Open-class wins, the last of which came at Corwen in Wales in July, just two days after finishing second to fellow New Zealander Cam Ferguson in the World Championships final and joining the rising star for victory in the teams final.
Waimate show executive officer Eileen Smith was also pondering the possibility of surprisingly low entries after good season-opening numbers at Alexandra, but saw Fagan’s call as a good omen.
The veteran shearer, booking a return flight from Auckand to Christchurch to get to the Mid-Canterbury contest and then confirming the entry, admitted the "bug is back" and added: "It’s good to support the shows."
While eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tough finewool merino contest at Alexandra in his first shear since Wales, he he had scored well for his placing in the heats - the compulsory first round of the five-round PGG Wrightson National qualifying series.
It made Waimate less important in the race for points if he is to challenge for his 10th series victory when the final is shorn at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March, but he said: "If you’re going to do the circuits, it’s not much use if you’re not full-on."
He will compete in the third round in Christchurch next month, defending the national corrriedale title he won last year, but says the early-season appearances don’t necessarily mean he’ll be on the board every weekend during the 60-show Shearing Sports New Zealand season. He will be at the Golden Shears, and a month later will defend his New Zealand Open title in home-town Te Kuiti.
While the Waimate entry was last night still light, with Fagan the 17th entry after more than 40 shore in the Open class at Alexandra, the field does include Hawke’s Bay gun Ferguson whose meteoric rise effectively began when he won at Waimate a year ago. Rakaia shearers Tony Coster and Grant Smith, with whom Ferguson will shear for New Zealand in a transtasman test at Hay in New South Wales next week, will also compete at Waimate.
World woolhandling champion team member Keryn Herbert will be in the open woolhandling field on Saturday, while a good bladeshearing entry of at least 13 includes Canterbury pair Brian Thomson and Allen Gemmell in their first competition in New Zealand since finishing third in their World teams final in Wales.
